It’s never too late to learn in East Hampshire!
Many older people may feel restricted in what they can do but still have active minds. In East Hampshire, there are plenty of adult learning classes that can stimulate them.
Never underestimate your ageing relative or friend. At Home Instead East Hampshire and Midhurst, we’ve found that if our clients are still mentally alert, many of them welcome the chance to learn a new skill. And there are plenty of places in the area – from Eastleigh to Alton and beyond – where you can find suitable courses. Here are just a few venues where your loved one might find a topic that will interest them.
Alton Community Centre
The courses at Alton Community Centre are all vocational with no exams. There’s a wide choice of courses – if your older person is feeling brave, they could try a new language – or perhaps learn a new craft (such as painting or drawing) or take part in a gentle exercise class (such as yoga). You can find the centre in Amery Street and can contact it on 01420 85057.
Those with dementia are also catered for by the centre – there’s a weekly Memory Lane Café on Wednesdays, with a range of drop-in sessions to choose from. Between 11:00 and 12:30pm, there’s tea, cakes, quizzes, music and games. From 12:30 to 1:00pm, there are seated exercises and crafts for your loved one to enjoy. After the Friendship Lunch from 1:00pm to 2:00pm, the afternoon continues with gardening, crafts and afternoon tea, finishing at 4:00pm.
Eastleigh College Adult Learning Classes
At Eastleigh College, there’s a lovely choice of adult community courses. The Adult Enrichment Programme specifically provides opportunities for adults with learning disabilities. Small group courses include cookery, music, art, floristry, dance and computing and last for 30 weeks (or some shorter courses for five weeks).
For those who are more able, there are some exciting and varied courses to choose from. They include topics such as art history; drawing and painting for leisure; cookery; cake decorating; photography; creative writing; languages and many more. There are also online courses available for those seniors with a computer. You can find out more by looking on the website or contacting the Adult Community Learning team on 023 8091 1270 or emailing [email protected]. The college can be found in Chestnut Avenue, Eastleigh.
The Sustainability Centre Adult Courses
Adult courses at The Sustainability Centre near East Meon, between Petersfield and Waterlooville, are held in the beautiful surroundings of the South Downs National Park. The centre was formed to ‘educate, enable and inspire people from all walks of life’. And the key theme of sustainability runs through all of its courses – including those involving crafts using natural materials.
The courses range from making baskets or pendants through to meditation, medicinal herbs, natural cosmetics and wildflower identification. And if you fancy taking a look around, there’s plenty to see outside. In the centre itself there’s an eco-friendly shop, selling items such as pottery, jewellery, art prints, greetings cards and body washes. And there’s a café that’s open from Wednesdays to Sundays, from 8:30am to 4:00pm.
Peter Symonds - Adult and Higher Education
If you live near Winchester and you’re looking for a leisure course for your ageing relative or friend, why not try the Adult and Higher Education Division (AHED) of the Peter Symonds College? It has a very tempting range of courses. For the adventurous older person, these include Chinese, French, German and Spanish! For the more creative person, there are classes studying ceramics; jewellery and silversmithing; drawing and painting; and creative arts.
There’s a car park at the college. This has limited spaces for staff and students, but there are some disabled parking spaces. There is also on-street parking including parking in Orchard Walk, behind the church. You can find Peter Symonds AHED at Weeke, near Winchester.
Farnham Adult Learning Centre
The Farnham Adult Learning Centre has specialist facilities, including courses for adults with learning disabilities. These are provided by the Supported Learning Team and are designed to improve communication, reading, writing, numeracy and ICT skills. They help ageing adults to grow in confidence and can help them to maintain both their physical and mental wellbeing.
There’s a wide range of courses, one or two of which will hopefully be enticing to your ageing relative or friend. They include creative courses (such as art and crafts, pottery and mosaics); history; photography; cookery; maths; and even lip reading. To find out more, contact Surrey Adult Learning. You can find Farnham Adult Learning Centre on the town’s West Street.
So, although some of these courses might not be suitable for your ageing adult, hopefully there will be some that will ‘tickle their fancy’.
And if you’d like educating on the services we provide at Home Instead East Hampshire and Midhurst, please just pick up the phone and give us a call. We’d be delighted to explain all the help we could offer to your loved one so that they’re able to stay in their own home.